Chapter 85.

PART 1.

‘I say we should attack!’ said the elephant, punctuating his point with a trumpeting cry of elephants.

‘And I think we should wait.’ Said Hatori calmly, without speaking, though he can’t help but move his lips. Talking with telepathy is a challenge, but he will soon stop moving his lips as well.

The man and the beast are arguing about when they should attack. The festival has already started two days ago, and Hatori has recovered from the ritual he performed the previous week, giving this forest a lake where animals can dip into after getting carved with runes, and then hold the power which nature never intended to give them. as they argue, the bees, wasps, and various herds are getting modified in the background.

‘You’re unwilling to attack because you can’t get rid of your fucking attachment to the damn festival!’ accused the elephant.

‘That isn’t true.’ Said Hatori.

‘Then clarify for us?’ asked the snake, sprawled on the rocks nearby, taking the rare sunbath in winter. Winter is very harsh for a reptile, so he takes whatever chance he can get to get warm.

‘If we attack now, they’ll expect that. but if we wait until the final day of the year without making a move, right when the next year is about to start…’

‘Oh, I get it.’ Said the snake. ‘They won’t expect that. They would be busy partying.’

‘Exactly.’ Said Hatori.

‘Fine.’ Said the elephant, rumbling away to cool his temper.

This is good since Hatori hears footsteps near his camp, and he goes there to see who is coming. While he rebuilt his camp underground with the use of the earth element, he also kept a wooden camp above the ground to welcome guests if they ever showed up. No need to show people his actual camp, since it can prove to be a good place to hide. He now needs to learn some hiding wards to truly hide it.

Once again, too many things, very little time. He sees it as the twins Ranveer and Bhavani Singh, some of his associates outside of his usual group. They were carrying a bag with them which made him curious. But Hatori is willing to wait since he arrived at the camp before them, and by the time they get there, they find him sitting in the sun with his legs crossed.

“Wow. You look like a warlord or something.” Said Bhavani. “Complete with camp and weathered appearance.”

“I don’t have an army, though.” Said Hatori. “Not that I would get an army. I doubt anyone would work with me, given the danger around me.”

“Nah, I’m sure you’ll find some crazies.” Said Ranveer, dropping the bag. He fishes inside and brings out a folded carpet. “We’re going to have a picnic here.”

“Interesting choice of place.” Said Hatori. “Anyway, I prefer to be called a sage instead of a warlord. It makes people less uncomfortable.”

“I suppose that means you won’t be eating the food we’ve brought, oh, mighty sage?” asked Bhavani, taking out the food.

“Sharing is caring.” Said Hattori. “If you do not perform this, I shall curse you.”

They all laughed after that statement.

PART 2.

Sangita is the professor of music at the Academy, and she is currently overseeing Shin’s practice. “Good.” She complimented once Shin was done finishing playing the final note. “Now, time for the vocal exercises.”

She starts to play various notes on her violin, and Shin tries to match them. All the notes were in his usual vocal range because she does not want to damage the voice of Shin by making him sing on higher notes. This does not mean she won’t make him practice those, but the usual singing on higher or lower notes than the normal range of a person’s voice can damage the voice. she does not make her students sing on high notes.

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“Now, you do have the sheet of the song which we’re about to play this year, don’t you?” she asked next.

“Yes, mam.” Agreed Shin.

“Good. Practice that every day, you’ve done well in the past years without a teacher. I’m sure you’ll do wonderful this year as well.” she said with a smile.

“Of course.” Said Shin with a smile.

Initially, he didn’t want to do anything this year at the festival. Especially when Josh and Raven are having their ongoing spat, and Hatori is still trapped outside. When he shared these concerns with Professor Sangita, instead of berating him, she understood.

“I won’t say whether you should perform this year or not; that is your own decision. But I can give you this piece of advice. Life will always throw hurdles in your way, if you just give up, and drop your art, then you will never be successful at it.” she told him.

Therefore, despite his misgivings, he decided to perform this year. It will be a violin solo this year, with no band to support him. But Shin is not afraid of performing alone on stage. He is sad that his friend won’t be there to see and hear his performance.

While Shin is practicing with the music sheet, Professor Sangita considers his talent. She considers him a diamond in the rough, and despite his birth status, she feels if Shin could harness his talent properly, no social prejudice could stop him.

PART 3.

Raven finds James on a secret ground found by Hatori. He sees the boy working on a circuit of sorts, though he doesn’t know what exactly it is. “What are you working on?” he asked.

“A visual circuit.” Said James. “This is what is inside of the yantras which let them see.”

“So you’re planning to create some sort of yantra or something?” asked Raven.

“No.” Said James, putting the circuit down. “The reason is…”

He told him everything, about his project, and how the professors and healer slaughter are helping him, as well as his reasons for doing this thing. “Don’t tell anyone though.” he finished.

“Of course, you’re secret is safe with me,” said Raven with a smile.

PART 4.

Much like the twins, someone else also had the idea of having a picnic at Hatori’s camp. “Hey guys,” said Liang. “room for one more?” he asked.

“Sure, come, sit with us,” said Bhavani.

“I can’t help but notice how quiet the forest is. Have the spirits attacked you recently?” he asked, unpacking his food.

As they all get the delicacies of his country, Hatori answers. “The spirits have not attacked me for days.” He said while chewing the food. “I think they left the forest.”

“Probably their anchor is destroyed.” Said Liang.

“You seem to know about spirits.” Said Ranveer.

“A little.” Said Liang. “Father says that you shouldn’t deal with them until you’re strong and experienced. Spirits are not to be underestimated.”

“Your dad sounds smart.” Said Hatori.

“He is.” Said Liang. “I haven’t managed to beat him in Go yet. Speaking of which,” he brings out the board. “Want to play?”

“Do you even need to ask?” said Hatori, shifting in front of Liang.

The board is put down in the middle, and the game begins. The twins are on the other two sides of the board, watching the moves of both players. They haven’t seen a game like this one, so they are fascinated by it.

After an hour-long game, Liang and the twins bid Hatori farewell. ‘Wait for the end of the year boys, you won’t believe how I’m going to start the next year.’

(End.)